Immigration & Diversity news headlines – April 15 2013

CollaborAction: why we started Building Blocks, where were going next (DiverseCity Toronto)
On March 20, 2013 we had a lively learning exchange, showcasing local leadership success stories. Our participants connected with and learned from each other. Participants left with ideas and practical information to build civic literacy and promote engagement and participation in your community. Thanks to our enthusiastic and interested participants, CollaborAction trended on twitter in Toronto! It was a fantastic afternoon. Alan Broadbent opened the conference with some words of reflection and inspiration, reminding us why we do this important work. At the end of the event, Ratna Omidvar summed up the afternoon, noting five key themes that emerged.http://diversecitytoronto.ca/blog/collaboraction-why-we-started-building-blocks-where-were-going-next/

The Vancouver Dialogues Project: Where the Gold Mountain Meets Turtle Island (Cities of Migration)
Vancouvers earliest Chinese immigrants referred to Canada as a place of opportunity the Gold Mountain. Less well-known is Turtle Island, the legendary name used by many First Nations people. As one of Canadas three founding nations, Aboriginal communities are largely absent from conversations about diversity and multiculturalism. Immigrant communities have little chance for interaction and often maintain outdated stereotypes. Yet both groups have much in common, rich cultural histories as well as the experience of displacement, racism, and living outside of the mainstream.http://citiesofmigration.ca/good_idea/the-vancouver-dialogues-project-where-the-gold-mountain-meets-turtle-island/

Strictly Canadian: What are the Canadian values we continue champion? (Roland Mascarenhas, Toronto Star)
Canada is the greatest country in the world, my father would utter to me as an adolescent, in a soft, deliberate and thoughtful tenor. It was paradoxical, because his memories were often a source of pain. He was sent to boarding school from ages 6 to 16, to a private school in rural India, and just as finding a light in darkness, had to grapple with the powerful emotions of loneliness and isolation. Eager to escape, he migrated as a teenager, armed with an intense curiosity and the youthful naiveté that is often its companion. Harsh realities awaited him in a new land; from the unforeseen social distance between citizens, to the jarring racism of the 1970s, with one harrowing tale of him walking toward the bus stop after school, only to be spat on by a stranger, his dignity in tatters.http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/04/12/what_are_the_canadian_values_we_continue_champion.html

The pros and cons of identity politics (Douglas Todd, Vancouver Sun)
My contribution to the Laurier Institution panel was to suggest the rise of identity politics in the past five decades has been a prime force in fuelling the kind of individualistic, me-first cultural fragmentation that polls show is rampant across the U.S. and Canada, especially B.C. More specifically, I described a University of Waterloo study that surveyed Chinese-Canadians about the Conservative governments 2006 apology for the head tax. The researchers found the apology did not impress Chinese-Canadians or, more importantly, make them feel more included in the wider Canadian culture. The Waterloo study might even hint, I suggested, that when leaders of minority groups zero in too intensely on their own rights, and the rights of their group, they are making their groups members feel more aggrieved, more isolated and less likely to focus on wider issues of concern. No one should succumb to historical naiveté or denial; pretending real injustices do not occur against various minority groups. But identity politics can be destructive when it encourages people to fixate on, or exaggerate, their sense of persecution.http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://www.vancouversun.com/Douglas%2BTodd%2Bpros%2Bcons%2Bidentity%2Bpolitics/8235119/story.html&ct=ga&cad=CAcQARgAIAAoATAAOABA-bGhiwVIAlAAWABiBWVuLVVT&cd=cfdnIpPZFpA&usg=AFQjCNEk6C_IHfcRCEvg3scnZgNxKCxAdQ

Canadian popular culture is changing, eh? (Welcome to Canada)
“Overall Canadian pop culture indeed seems to be a reflection of American popular culture, and while I understand the desire to establish our own identity, I dont think its that big a deal if we have music, television, movies, books, magazines etc from other countries.” Eh! Canadian Pop Culture Bloghttp://deartotoronto.blogspot.ca/2013/04/canadian-popular-culture-is-changing-eh.html

Not so cool in the Great White North: Toronto and the Caribbean Jazz experience (Nigel A. Campbell)
The phenomena of immigration, assimilation and accommodation in CanadaToronto more specificallyhas long been used by modern anthropologists and writers to describe the plight of Caribbean immigrant. Neil Bissoondath has aptly described the cult of multiculturalism in Canada, a nationally legislated exercise in social engineering, as exoticizing and trivializing cultures to create mental ghettos for the various communities. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has admitted since 2010 that her countrys exercise of multiculturalism has utterly failed. Trinidad went against the tide of modern history and created a Ministry of Multiculturalism. Many writers of Caribbean birth make use of the mature publishing industry to their profit: Bissondath, Clare Harris, Dionne Brand, NourbeSe Philip, Rabindranath Maharaj, Shani Mootoo, Ramabai Espinet, the late Harold Sonny Ladoo, all of Trinidad; Austin Clarke and Cecil Foster of Barbados, Olive Senior and Nalo Hopkinson of Jamaica, Richardo Keens-Douglas of Grenada are identifiable authors of multiple volumes carving a space in the Canadian publishing industry.http://iradiott.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/not-so-cool-in-the-great-white-north-toronto-and-the-caribbean-jazz-experience/

Writer’s latest a haunting story (Kathleen Keenan, Canada.com)
Selvadurai was born in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and immigrated to Canada with his family at age 19. He is the author of two acclaimed works of fiction, Funny Boy (1994) and Cinnamon Gardens (1998), and a young adult novel, Swimming in the Monsoon Sea (2005). The Hungry Ghosts, a haunting story of longing, family ties and forgiveness, begins in Canada. Shivan, a gay man of mixed Tamil and Sinhalese ancestry, is preparing to visit his dying grandmother in Sri Lanka. Compelling flashbacks tell the story of Shivan’s childhood in his domineering grandmother’s home, his immigration to Toronto with his mother Hema and sister Renu, and his adult life in Vancouver.http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGIl4FZi7Y9XrVl4mNVXwDYn7ihbw&url=http://www.canada.com/entertainment/Writer%2Blatest%2Bhaunting%2Bstory/8235038/story.html

Inaugural conference on diversity in classroom held in Edmonton (CBC)
The Alberta Teachers Association (ATA) is hosting its inaugural Inspiration into Action Conference at the Barnett House Auditorium in Edmonton this weekend. Over 100 teachers from across the province including representatives from the public, separate and francophone school systems will be attending the event, which is intended as a forum to discuss diversity, equity and human rights in the workplace and classroom. Information and training sessions will be held on such topics as cyber-bullying, support for sexual minorities, the learning needs of Aboriginal students, and supporting immigrant and refugee students.http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/story/2013/04/13/edmonton-ata-diversity-conference.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co

David Mamets Race at Canadian Stage (Denise Balkissoon, Ethnic Aisle)This is a Toronto blog, and heres my Toronto take on Race: America is weird. After seeing last nights premiere of David Mamets play (starring, yes, Jason Priestley), my main thought was that we really need to do a Canada vs. USA issue of the Ethnic Aisle, and examine how very differently the two countries experience race and ethnicity. The literal black/white dichotomy of American race politics is always curious to me. Its not surprising that the Atlantic slave trade has such an enduring legacy on just about every single way Americans look at everything. But at the same time it seems strange that a play debuted in 2009 makes just an offhand mention of one immigrant, and barely flicks at the ever-changing, multifaceted view of race and ethnicity that is my Toronto-born view of the topic, and the world.http://ethnicaisle.wordpress.com/2013/04/12/david-mamets-race-at-canadian-stage/

Immigrating to Canada as teacher (Andy Radia, Prepare for Canada)
On the surface, it looks like Cristina Popescu and her husband had an easy transition to life in Canada. Just a few years after immigrating here from Romania, they both have jobs in their field of choice shes a teacher and hes in the I.T. industry and they appear to be living happily ever after. But it didnt happen by accident or by luck. Even before immigrating to Canada, the couple started preparing they went on the Internet to find out where the best opportunities for them would be.http://www.prepareforcanada.com/working/working-success-stories/immigrating-to-canada-as-a-teacher/

Elaine Gerrie Among Women Honoured By Diversity Canada Magazine : Electrical Line Magazine : Canada’s Electrical Trade Publication (Electrical Line Magazine)
Elaine Gerrie of Gerrie Electric Wholesale Limited was one of the 18 women executives and managers honoured in the Spring edition of Diversity Canada Magazine as a leader in opening doors and removing barriers for Women, Aboriginals and Visible Minorities in Canada. Gerrie Electric is a Canadian, independent, family owned, electrical distributor located in south central Ontario Diversity Canada Magazine said the winners, who are featured in its 2013 Spring issue, have worked relentlessly within their organizations and communities to develop inclusive best practices in groundbreaking ways. The magazine will be distributed at several major diversity and Human Resources conferences and mailed to thousands of top-level corporate executives.http://www.google.com/url?sa=X&q=http://electricalline.com/elaine-gerrie-among-women-honoured-diversity-canada-magazine&ct=ga&cad=CAcQARgAIAEoATAAOABAtJ-kiwVIAlgAYgVlbi1VUw&cd=sNyP_PvO86I&usg=AFQjCNH0HjBAFduiePIlG9SVgB5OmymGWg

Montreal Was Jackie Robinson’s Refuge From Racism (Bill Mann, Huffington Post)
I’m pretty sure I did the final interview with Jackie Robinson. I’m glad I grabbed the chance to approach Robinson, already a legendary figure, when I did. He was gone shortly after. It took place in Montreal, where Robinson loved living and playing baseball. The city was his refuge from racism. That’s why he told this young sportswriter he came back to the city. He spent what turned out to be his last summer in that French-speaking metropolis. The new film about Robinson,42, virtually overlooks Montreal, just as Argo marginalized Canada. A shame, but totally predictable.http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/mobileweb/bill-mann/jackie-robinson-montreal_b_3062411.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008

Immigration Related Resolutions at the NDP Convention (Steven Meurrens)
In 2011 I wrote about a resolution at the Conservative Party Convention to strip the citizenship of people who take up arms against Canadian soldiers or other types of treason. Fast forward to 2013, and it seems like the government may adopt a similar policy. So with the New Democratic Party, the Official Opposition in Canada, about to have their Policy Convention in Montreal, I thought it would be prudent to state the resolutions of theirs directly related to immigration (as opposed to resolutions which would indirectly influence immigration by impacting Canadas standard of living).http://www.stevenmeurrens.com/2013/04/immigration-related-resolutions-at-the-ndp-convention/

Of ‘illegal immigrants’ and ‘democratic socialism’ (Charles Demers, rabble)
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks in the world of political phraseology. Now, if by some miracle you didnt slip directly into a coma after reading that first sentence, I’ll explain what I mean. First of all, some genuine progress about which to be sincerely pleased: the Associated Press has announced that it will stop using the dehumanizing phrase “illegal immigrant.” There are, of course, all sorts of different terms for someone who is in a country that they aren’t legally supposed to be in, from “undocumented worker” to “member of the Israel Defense Forces.” But for many years, the term “illegal immigrant,” and its even more jarring, otherworldly cousin, “illegal alien” (inspiration for the perfect costume if you find yourself invited to a Halloween party at the corner of Racist and Lazy) were insensitively bandied about with the sort of ease with which, say, capital has getting over those same “illegally” crossed borders.http://rabble.ca/news/2013/04/illegal-immigrants-and-democratic-socialism#.UWg4TVuHN-w.facebook

Helping Newcomers Settle and Succeed (Gov of Ontario News)
Ontario is increasing support for settlement programs and helping more than 80,000 newcomers get the services they need to settle and find jobs. Through the government’s Newcomer Settlement Program, 98 organizations across the province will receive support over the next two years to help connect new immigrants with language and job training, and other community services. This year’s investment will allow select agencies to explore new and innovative ways to deliver support to vulnerable immigrants and underserviced communities. Enhancing newcomer settlement services is part of the province’s Immigration Strategy and supports the new Ontario government’s efforts to build a healthy province and a fair society.http://news.ontario.ca/mci/en/2013/04/helping-newcomers-settle-and-succeed-1.html

In the Field Newsletter Volume 10 (OCASI)
Contents:
Debbie’s observations on change happening in the sector
Forming Partnerships between Settlement Agencies and Professional Immigrant Networks (PINs)
OCASI School of Social Justice
OCASI e-Learning
Sector Happeningshttp://ocasi.org/field-newsletter-volume-10

The five groups the Liberals need to win back to rebuild the party (Globe and Mail)Over the past two decades, Canada has imported nearly two Torontos-worth of immigrants, most of them from Asian and Pacific nations, profoundly altering both the demographic and political landscape. Many of them now live in the sprawling suburban cities that surround Toronto. While new Canadians used to support the Liberals traditionally the party identified with multiculturalism and open immigration polls show this generation of new arrivals is more economically and culturally conservative than those who came over from Europe in the last century. They worry about the economy and safe streets and are inclined to believe that activist governments make things worse instead of better. In the last election, middle-class, suburban voters in Ontario including middle-class, immigrant voters strongly supported the Harper Conservatives. Justin Trudeaus single greatest priority must be to win them back.http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/the-five-groups-the-liberals-need-to-win-back-to-rebuild-the-party/article11209593/?service=mobile

Expanded program to engage newcomers in arts and heritage (Sean Meyer, London Community News)
One of the beauties of arts and heritage is that someone doesnt have to speak any particular language to enjoy it. That universal truth is something the London Arts Council (LAC) and the London Heritage Council (LHC) are relying on as they prepare to expand the scope of their Citizen Culture Program with a helping hand from the federal government. On Friday (April 12), London North Centre MP Susan Truppe joined Andrea Halwa, LAC executive director, board chairs from both the LAC and LHC, and numerous community partners, in announcing an $81,500 contribution towards expansion of the Citizen Culture Program. This program will encourage newcomers, new Canadians, London residents, tourists and students to engage in cultural experiences at 22 participating arts and heritage organizations in the Forest City.http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/news-story/2533865-expanded-program-to-engage-newcomers-in-arts-and-heritage/

Vancouver’s first Arab art show highlights diversity of the Middle East (Rebekah Funk, The Canadian Press)
A beat-up 1970s Toyota Corona sits among bundles of household goods, waiting for the tarried family who will pile their life atop its roof racks and drive to new beginnings. The sky-blue car is part of a new exhibit at the Museum of Anthropology that showcases the works of contemporary artists from the Middle East, in the hopes they can debunk a western-world myth that the area is all about burkas, bloodshed and bombings. The life-size visual display entitled “Destination X” by Lebanese artist, Ayman Baalbaki, chronicles his family’s flight from their homeland during a 1970 civil war.http://www.theprovince.com/entertainment/Vancouver+first+Arab+show+highlights+diversity+Middle/8241116/story.html

REFUGEES

Medical Student Videos Take Aim at Canada’s New Refugee Regime (Canada Newswire)
Over the past two months, medical students at schools across the country have been producing videos to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of Bill C-31 and cuts to Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP). Under these changes, many refugees and refugee claimants lose preventive health coverage including life-saving medications, and only receive health care if their condition is of an “urgent and essential” nature. Perhaps even more worrying, refugee claimants from Designated Countries of Origin (DCOs), countries that are deemed to be “safe” by the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, receive coverage only if their condition is a threat to public health and safety. A heart attack, a woman in labour, a broken arm – none of these medical issues will be covered for DCO claimants.http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNEstv6TDtJzgxPITC12pQG6ODDtVg&url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/1145103/medical-student-videos-take-aim-at-canada-s-new-refugee-regime

Refugees without health care caught between death and debts (Nicholas Keung, Toronto Star)
Israel Sosas deportation has been put on hold as the 50-year-old battles colon cancer. The failed refugee claimant from the Dominican Republic has been allowed to stay in Canada on humanitarian grounds for now but he has been banned from getting treatment under Ottawas Interim Federal Health (IFH) Program for refugees. The Toronto man could choose to delay treatment and face death or go into debt paying his medical costs. Thats the new reality for asylum seekers from the so-called safe countries ones such as Mexico and the Czech Republic, which are deemed democratic countries capable of state protection as well as failed refugee claimants.http://www.thestar.com/news/insight/2013/03/29/refugees_without_health_care_caught_between_death_and_debts.html

From There to Here: Once-stateless Tibetan refugee Tenzin Nordhen finds a home at last (Debra Black, Toronto Star)
More than 240,000 immigrants are expected to arrive in Canada this year. Many will settle in the GTA. For some, their dreams may take years to build. For others, those dreams may never materialize. To explore that experience, the Star is publishing an occasional series in the words of newcomers, both recent and more established. If you would like to tell your story, email dzblack Tenzin Nordhen, a 32-year-old Tibetan refugee, came to Canada from Nepal in 2007. He grew up in India after his parents left Tibet part of a wave of Tibetans who followed the Dalai Lama out of the country after China occupied their homeland.http://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2013/04/12/from_there_to_here_oncestateless_tibetan_refugee_tenzin_nordhen_finds_a_home_at_last.html?app=noRedirect

Refugee Advocacy Video Competition (CFMS)
Over the past two months, medical students at schools across the country have been producing short videos to raise awareness about the detrimental effects of Bill C-31 and cuts to Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP). Under these changes, many refugees and refugee claimants lose preventive health coverage including life-saving medications, and only receive health care if their condition is of an “urgent and essential” nature. Perhaps even more worrying, refugee claimants from Designated Countries of Origin (DCOs), countries that are deemed to be “safe” by the Minister of Immigration, receive coverage only if their condition is a threat to public health and safety. A heart attack, a woman in labour, a broken arm – none of these will be covered for DCO claimants. As medical students, we’re standing up to say that it is wrong to deny the human right to health to the most vulnerable people residing in Canada.http://www.cfms.org/index.php/global-health/projects/immigrant-and-refugee-health.html?showall&start=2

OFL Releases People’s Budget Plan for Ontario: Affordable Measures to Alleviate Poverty, New Infrastructure Investment, and Tax Fairness (Marketwire)
The Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) released a white paper today, A People’s Budget – Towards a Fair Ontario, which proposes recommendations that will create good jobs, alleviate poverty, support workers and their families, give young people a fair chance, and promote tax fairness. These recommendations are based on extensive feedback from citizens and groups and builds on a discussion paper the OFL released in February of this year calling for a change in the conversation on austerity. “Over the course of our consultation, we heard stories of hard-working Ontarians falling behind, young people losing their optimism, and families struggling to make sense of the unfairness of income inequality,” said Sid Ryan, President of the OFL. “Yet we also heard inspiring stories of perseverance and thoughtful ideas for the future. The People’s Budget offers a positive path forward, away from austerity and towards a fair society based on equity and shared prosperity.”http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/ofl-releases-peoples-budget-plan-ontario-affordable-measures-alleviate-poverty-new-infrastructure-1778782.htm

Video: People’s Budget – White Paper Promo (OFL)
On Monday, April 15, 2013 the People’s Budget will be releasing its final recommendations for the Ontario budget. This white paper, produced by the Ontario Federation of Labour will present a blueprint for a fairer Ontario.

Barbra Schlifer award honours legal advocate for womens housing (Laura Kane, Toronto Star)Leilani Farha wants to wake up in a better world for women. The executive director of Canada Without Poverty says that some mornings when she opens her eyes and turns on the news, she thinks, Is this the best we can do? Now, she is being honoured with the first annual Spirit of Barbra Schlifer Award for her efforts to make that world better. For two decades, Farha has worked tirelessly to ensure female victims of violence have access to housing in Canada and across the globe. The award was introduced this year by the Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic, which offers legal help, counselling and language interpretation to women who have experienced violence.http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/04/11/barbra_schlifer_award_honours_legal_advocate_for_womens_housing.html

Health Innovation Portal
The Health Council of Canada is reporting on innovative health care practices, policies, programs and services so they can be adopted elsewhere in Canada. Our goal is to support the identification, sharing, and uptake of innovative practices that have been demonstrated to strengthen Canadas health care system. Were here to help you find programs and practices that are working in other jurisdictions across a variety of health care themes so you can learn from them and put them into practice.http://innovation.healthcouncilcanada.ca/

Canadian Social Research Newsletter (Canadian Social Research Links)
Canadian content
1. Join the British Columbia election campaign! — “Where is BCs Poverty Reduction Plan?” (BC Poverty Reduction Coalition)
2. [Ontario] Union and welfare advocacy group seeking a 55% boost in social assistance (April 12) + Is the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty becoming more moderate? (March 6)
3. SPARmonitor (Social Policy Analysis & Research, City of Toronto) – April 10
4. Employment Insurance cuts are another blow to the jobless (Toronto Star) – April 10
5. Unions Matter (National Union of Public and General Employees – NUPGE) – March 2013
6. More news about Quebec’s controversial welfare changes – April 10, 13
7. Who will push for Ontarios poor [in the upcoming Ontario Budget 2014]? (Hamilton Spectator) – April 11
8. Stephen Harper and The Fraser (Georgia Straight) – July 6, 2006
9. Why Guaranteeing the Poor an Income Will Save Us All In the End (Hugh Segal in Huffington Post Canada) – April 8
10. Inequality: What the Federal Finance Committee should know (Canada Without Poverty) – April 8
11. The At Home/Chez Soi project ended March 31 (Housing First for people experiencing serious mental illness and homelessness)
12. Research Tip : Google Alerts!
13. What’s New in The Daily [Statistics Canada]:
— no social policy-related products this week.
14. What’s new from the Childcare Resource and Research Unithttp://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/personal/news140413.htm

Temporary foreign workers: They’re what Canada’s made of (Doug Saunders, Globe and Mail)
As a nation of immigrants, we like to imagine that our families arrived and became citizens through a planned and orderly process. But for many of them, it didnt work that way.They didnt arrive thinking of themselves as immigrants at all but as temporary or seasonal workers. Were a nation of temps who stuck around. This system of temporary status melding into permanence has worked very well as a means to create new Canadians. But it has recently fallen apart: The temporary, now here in greater numbers than ever, are finding themselves unable to become permanent.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/temporary-foreign-workers-theyre-what-canadas-made-of/article11142634/

Doing the Heavy Lifting Canadas temporary foreign workers vulnerable to exploitation (David Koch, The Dominion)
José Sicajau, a Guatemalan man of Indigenous descent, had grown accustomed to exploitative conditions after several years as a Temporary Foreign Worker growing vegetables on a farm in Saint-Michel, Quebec, less than an hour south of Montreal. But when his boss allegedly attacked a Mexican co-worker in 2006, striking him with an aluminum pole because the assembly of an irrigation system was not going as planned, Sicajau ran out of patience. That was the end for me, said Sicajau, 45, speaking through a translator in November. He was in Ottawa with a delegation of human rights activists, touring the region to denounce the program that first brought him to Canada nearly a decade ago.http://dominion.mediacoop.ca/story/doing-heavy-lifting/16964

Temporary Foreign Worker Program works for Canada (Garth Whyte, Financial Post)
The primary objective of the TFW program: permit the use of foreign workers only when Canadians are not available to fill the job Much in the news recently, the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFW) has been recipient of a wide range of accusations, ranging from the assertion certain organizations are using it to replace employed Canadians, the presence of overseas staff is depressing salaries and wages in this country particularly in lower-skilled occupations and that unscrupulous employers are abusing program participants. The initiative is currently under review by the federal government and our organization, the Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association, fully supports the thorough investigation of all claimed abuses. Our association also completely supports the primary objective of the TFW program: permit the use of foreign workers only when Canadians are not available to fill the job. We want the program to emerge from the government review with a strengthened sense of purpose and integrity, and an enhanced reputation.http://opinion.financialpost.com/2013/04/12/temporary-foreign-worker-program-works-for-canada/

Satire – RBC Chief Issues Apology for Getting Caught Outsourcing Jobs (David Bernans, Media Coop Montreal)RBC has been in the news this week in a way no company ever wants to be. Let me tell you, we were really blindsided on this one. There was nothing newsworthy about our shedding of Canadian IT jobs through an outsourcing agreement with iGate Corp. If we can pay foreign workers less to do the same job that Canadians are doing, its our duty to our shareholders to make that happen. Thats why my own paycheque has recently seen a 25% increase to $12.6 million. All Canadian CEOs do it every day, and it is not news. But with iGate, we went a bridge too far. And we got caught. For that, I apologize with all my heart. Our supplier added insult to the outsourcing injury by using loopholes in the Canadian visa system our friends in the Harper government designed to allow us to employ foreign workers in Canada to do jobs at a lower wage than their Canadian counterparts. And iGate used our RBC IT employees to train the foreign workers who would be doing their jobs once those positions were offshored. When investigative journalists at the CBC found out about all this, the shit really hit the fan.http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/blog/bernans/17115

Is wage theft Gordon Nixon’s new initiative aimed at “helping” young people? (Andrew Langille, Youth and Work)
Between being caught outsourcing forty-five jobs to India, the visceral outrage of Canadians on social media, and a textbook PR disaster – by any measure RBC had a rough week. The eventual point-man in the temporary foreign worker saga was Gordon Nixon, RBC’s CEO, who attempted to defend the indefensible through a series of poorly messaged appearances and ill-conceived crisis management.http://www.youthandwork.ca/2013/04/is-wage-theft-gordon-nixons-new.html?m=1

RBC outsourcing controversy an economic fraud (Andrew Coyne, National Post)
The temporary foreign workers controversy, in other words, is mostly a fraud. It harnesses crude xenophobia (dont foreign workers have rights, too?) in the service of opposition to outsourcing generally, itself merely a specific expression of a broader protectionism. In every case, the underlying supposition is the same: that some jobs can be saved by preventing others from being created; that jobs can long be preserved because of government fiat, rather than because it is in employers interest to hire; that jobs, indeed, are a form of property, and not a contract between two willing parties. We may wish they were, but they are not.http://fullcomment.nationalpost.com/2013/04/10/andrew-coyne-rbc-outsourcing-controversy-an-economic-fraud/

Alberta town would be shut down without foreign workers (Migrants Canada)
After news of RBCs outsourcing of jobs caused a nationwide outcry, one small Alberta town said it depends on foreign workers to fill jobs that Canadians refuse. In Rocky Mountain House, a town in central Alberta, business owner Nikki Searth said she relies on the program because she has trouble finding a student who will accept an $11-an-hour cashier job. According to Searth, it wasnt always so.http://migrantscanada.wordpress.com/2013/04/15/alberta-town-would-be-shut-down-without-foreign-workers/

Lets worry about skills, not outsourcing (Amanda Lang, CBC)If you landed back in Canada this week from outer space, or even southern Florida, youd be forgiven for thinking youd hit a wormhole in time and that it was actually 1990. A debate is raging about whether business should outsource jobs if it makes the business more profitable. Wait, you might think, we settled this long ago. And except when it becomes campaign trail rhetoric in America, we understand that outsourcing is not a bad thing. Or is it? We want jobs in Canada, and we want good high-paying ones at that. So why not insist they all stay here? Even at the expense of profit? Quite simply, because it would be the path to ruin.http://m.theglobeandmail.com/commentary/lets-worry-about-skills-not-outsourcing/article11084876/?service=mobile

Temporary foreign worker impacts felt far beyond RBC (CBC)
Mark Thompson, professor emeritus at UBC’s Sauder School of Business, says the story is much bigger than almost four dozen RBC workers, and it’s far from over. “I think there’s going to be more examples of temporary foreign workers doing things that most people in the public wonder about.” Thompson says there are over 300,000 temporary foreign workers in Canada in jobs that aren’t temporary in restaurants, in health care, and in many other fields.http://bit.ly/172AVoU

SOCIAL INNOVATION / NONPROFITS

2013 Donner Awards accepting applications (Charity Village)
The Donner Awards Program is Canadas largest nonprofit recognition program. with a total of $60,000 available and nine awards granted. They are currently accepting applications for the 2013 Donner Canadian Foundation Awards for Excellence in the Delivery of Social Services until Friday, May 31, 2013. In return for completing the application, all participants receive a confidential report that compares their organizations performance relative to peers in the sector. This report allows them to identify areas of particular strength in their organizations management and delivery of services as well as areas where performance can be improved. Nonprofit organizations may apply to the Donner Awards online and those who complete their application online by the final deadline of May 31 will be entered in a $1,000 cash draw.https://charityvillage.com/Content.aspx?topic=2013_Donner_Awards_accepting_applications